Windows Vista - OEM Vs Retail Licensing
Part 3
Support
Retail
With a retail version of the OS you should have two support
incidents that you can raise directly with MS.
These can be any level of support and should include follow-up
all the way through to resolution.
It is worth noting that you only get two, so it is worth
searching the Internet or the Microsoft Knowledge Base prior to
contacting Microsoft as there are bound to have been other
people with the same problem and they will offer you a fast
answer.
It is also worth knowing that unless what you have is a totally
new bug/issue, Microsoft Technical Support people use exactly
the same Knowledge Base available to you as an end-user.
Learn how to utilise Knowledge Base well and you have all the
support you need.
OEM
Microsoft offers you no support at all on an OEM license and
they will always refer you to the place where you purchased your
OS from.
In most cases you can ask in a forum or search online and you
will get an answer to most issues.
It is only when you find something brand new do you have a
problem as the community as a whole doesn’t have any solutions
and Microsoft will not entertain you as you purchased OEM and
not Retail.
Don’t forget Microsoft Knowledge Base, as said above it is
exactly the same problem solving tool that the majority of MS
technical support people use – so learn to utilise it well and
you’ll have no need to contact Microsoft directly.
Hot fixes
There is a misconception that Hotfixes listed in the Microsoft
Knowledge base are only available to people with a support
contract or support via a retail version of the OS purchase.
A hotfix is not usually made generally available as it is a fix
that has not been through full testing.
It is also a patch or fix for a specific issue and to be honest
the majority of people won’t need access to it, that combined
with the fact it hasn’t been fully tested, the Knowledgebase
Article may well ask you to contact Microsoft for a copy of it.
Even if you are just using an OEM version of the OS you are
still entitled to a copy of this Hotfix if you feel you need it.
Contact your local Microsoft support centre and soon after your
call is answered you will be asked for the product code for the
OS you are running.
Once the letters “OEM” are mentioned the person you are speaking
to will attempt to end the call, simply tell you to contact your
OS vendor.
At this point make them aware this is in relation to a Hotfix
listed in a Knowledge Base article and when prompted give them
the KB Article number.
You should now be able to get this file (so long as MS agree it
may fix the problem you are having) without the need to pay for
the support call.
Guide Parts
1,
2, 3,
4
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